Dinner and a No-Show
by they-need-a-revolutionary
Summary: Cinder's date stands her up and just as she is about to be kicked out of the restaurant for loitering, a friend of Iko's swoops in and rescues her from public embarrassment. Modern AU. (forgot a/n so: they're sort of ooc so sorry about that anyway hope you like it. reviews are greatly appreciated!)


Cinder rebooted her netlink for the fourth time in an hour. Still no comms. Her date was supposed to arrive forty-five minutes ago. Half a dozen other parties had already been seated, despite arriving after her. Several women had passed her on the way out, shooting her sympathetic glances.

One of the human hostesses, Mei An, approached her quietly for the third time. "Any news yet, Linh- _jie_?"

"Not yet. There must just be…traffic. Or something. Thanks for asking." Cinder gazed wistfully at the couples in the restaurant.

Mei An nodded and returned to her station. Savory aromas wafted from the kitchen and hung in the air, taunting Cinder's technologically improved senses. She exhaled slowly, sliding a clammy palm down the side of her dress.

Cinder couldn't believe Iko had talked her into wearing a _dress_. Especially one this… _revealing_. Almost all of Cinder's metal leg was exposed for all the world to see. Her date probably would have left as soon as he arrived anyway. What had Iko been thinking? _Iko_.

Iko had sent several comms in the past few minutes that Cinder had forgotten to reply to.

 ** _has he shown up yet? its been an hour at least_**

 ** _u promised 2 send me a pic of him!_**

 ** _linh cinder respond 2 my comms_**

 ** _stars above have mercy u better have a good xcuse_**

Cinder rolled her eyes, momentarily jumbling the text floating in her peripheral vision. Quickly she responded with a short and vague **_sorry my netlink has been shorting out, comm you later_**. That would satisfy her.

Cinder caught a glimpse of Mei An speaking to a waiter and a chef behind the kitchen door. She turned her audio interface to max sensitivity, edging closer to hear more.

"How long has she been here?" the chef muttered. "If she's not going to order anything…"

The waiter nodded in agreement. "But _I'm_ not telling her to leave. You should do it, Mei An. It looks to me like you two have already bonded over your lack of dates." Cinder nearly snorted.

Mei An swatted at his shoulder and missed. "You're just jealous, Jun." The waiter Jun put up his hands in mock surrender.

The chef rejoined the conversation. "Jun, shut up. The lady at table six needs more water and all the androids are busy. And Mei, just tell the girl with the leg that if her date doesn't show up in ten minutes she has to leave."

Cinder sighed. She turned her audio back down and slumped in a chair by the door. "The girl with the leg" was how she was known now. Great. She watched, silent, as Mei An picked her way through the restaurant back to where Cinder slouched dejectedly.

"Linh- _jie_ ," the hostess said softly. "Is your date alright? I hope he isn't hurt. But, um, if he, um, doesn't get here in the next few minutes, I, uhm, I-"

The door opened next to the two women, sending a rush of cool air through the restaurant. A man of about nineteen stepped inside. He was dressed in a gray hoodie and wrinkled trousers, a strange combination for the formal setting of the business he had just entered. His shaggy black was slicked away from his copper brown eyes.

Cinder and Mei An exchanged looks. _Is that him?_ Mei An mouthed. Cinder didn't respond. The handsome stranger had caught her off guard and she straightened in her seat. Unexpectedly, the stranger looked at her. Her! "The girl with the leg"! Cinder stood up, only half-conscious of her actions. He approached her and smiled.

"Sorry I'm late, babe, traffic was crazy on the way over. You still up for dinner?" He lowered his voice. "I'm Kai. I'm a friend of Iko's. She sent me over her to find you. Wanna grab a table? I'll pay."

Cinder nodded once and Kai walked her over to a booth. Mei An grinned at Cinder and winked.

"So how do you know Iko?" Kai asked after they ordered.

Cinder looked up at him. "What? Oh! We're, uh, roommates, I guess. It's a long story. I'm sure you wouldn't be interested in…silly…things…like…that." Cinder whispered to a stop as she registered Kai's expression. He was…smiling?

"No, please, I'd love to hear. I'm a firm believer in getting to know somebody before I go on a date with them."

"This…is a date?" Cinder cocked an eyebrow and smiled slightly.

"Sure it is! I mean, we're in a fancy restaurant, eating together. Stars, you're even wearing a dress! So I believe that to most people this would, in fact, qualify as a date." Kai took a sip of his drink. "Whoever didn't show up doesn't know what they're missing."

"Oh-I-um. Wow. Okay." Cinder smiled shyly at the table, suddenly flustered. She was rescued by fate when an android arrived at their table, balancing both dishes on her synthetic arms. Cinder and Kai lifted the burden from the robotic woman gratefully.

Cinder watched as Kai piled food into his mouth. Somehow he still managed to do so without looking like a pig. Slowly Cinder began to eat, moving small, measured bites of curry to her mouth. Chewed four times. Swallowed. Repeat.

Cinder had taken about fifteen bites when she became abruptly aware of Kai's eyes on her. She met his gaze evenly. "Why are you staring at me?"

Kai laughed. "It's just fascinating. The way you're eating, I mean. So… constant."

Cinder realized she was slouching and straightened her spine. "My eating is constant. I suppose that's true." She continued her methodical consumption of her meal.

They argued briefly over who would pay for their dinner. Finally Kai gave in, much to Cinder's relief. She excused herself politely and rushed to the restroom where she splashed water on her face. She realized a moment too late that she was wearing makeup. Sighing, Cinder patted her face dry with a paper towel and hoped the change wouldn't be noticeable. She wove her way back through the tables, carefully avoiding eye contact with anyone who looked her way.

Cinder sat back down and waved for An Mei. "Hi, can I get the check, please?"

An Mei smiled. "Linh- _jie_ , your date has already paid for you!" She hurried away as the impromptu couple dissolved into bickering.

Cinder glared at Kai, who raised his arms in mock surrender. "I _told_ you I was paying! You're my date."

"You can't pay! You didn't even know you _had_ a date until an hour ago," Cinder hissed frustratedly. "I suppose since you've already paid, we can leave this fine establishment and continue this conversation outside. We wouldn't want to disturb the other patrons, now would we? Hmm?" She stood up and began to walk to the door.

Kai sighed and followed after her. They stepped outside. Cinder opened her mouth to continue but Kai cut her off sharply.

"I'm sorry, Cinder, but what's done is done! I really like you already and I didn't want to force you to pay!"

"You-you like me?" Cinder shook her head, swiping away system warnings about rising adrenaline and blood pressure.

Kai shrugged. "Well, I mean, yeah. Is-is that okay? If it makes you uncomfortable, I don't-"

Cinder held up her hand. "No, it's just-I really like you too. And I was thinking-hoping that we could…do this again sometime?" She smiled slightly.

"Oh! Oh, that's great because I was going to ask you but, you know, I wasn't sure if you would…" Kai scratched at his neck. He looked at Cinder. "Well, the, uh, the Peace Ball is coming up. If you have any interest in going to that?"

Cinder nodded and her smile grew. She closed the space between them in a moment, standing on the tips of her toes. In one quick motion, she curled her arm around Kai's neck, tentative and shy. She pulled him into a kiss, which he returned without hesitation. They broke apart, breathless and euphoric.

Cinder was the first to take a step back. She smoothed out the front of her dress, somewhat needlessly. "Well, thank you for this, Kai. I'll comm you about the Ball. She turned and walked back towards her hover, beaming.

 **The End (or is it?) (Yeah, it's the end) (Okay stop reading now)**


End file.
